The Hanshin Tigers began the procedure Friday to place lefty Kei Igawa up for auction via the so-called posting system in his bid to move to the major leagues next season.
Relevant documents were sent to the Japanese baseball commissioner's office by e-mail and forwarded to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's office.
Igawa will be unveiled to the 30 major league clubs early next week for the bidding for the 27-year-old.
If Hanshin accepts the highest offer for Igawa, the team with the winning bid will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with him.
Money is apparently not a priority for the Central League team and it is hoping that Igawa can begin talks with a major league team by as early as Nov. 27.
Igawa became the third Japanese player this offseason to be handed the opportunity to play in North America via the same route, following Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Akinori Iwamura.
The Boston Red Sox have offered a record $51.11 million to negotiate with Matsuzaka while the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won the right to hold talks with Iwamura for an unofficial $4.5 million.
Igawa went 14-9 in the 2006 season with a 2.97 earned run average. He struck out 194 to tie Chunichi Dragons right-hander Kenshin Kawakami for the league lead, adding to the strikeout titles he won in 2002 and '04.